Colt and Dam Run on Same Card in England

Anyone who took the time to examine the pedigrees of 2-year-old Pasaka Boy and 7-year-old Shesha Bear on the Salisbury race card in England June 12 couldn’t help but be surprised. Pasaka Boy, who was making his first start, is out of Shesha Bear.

Shesha Bear, by Tobougg, finished second in a 1 1/2-mile race for 4-year-olds and up, and Pasaka Boy, by Haafhd, won a six-furlong race at 50-1.

“It caused a bit of an interest,” said J.G.B. Portman, who trains both runners for RWH Partnership. “It’s a shame they both didn’t win. It would have been great.”

Pasaka Boy is the first and sole offspring for Shesha Bear, who raced for Joe Bear Racing prior to becoming a broodmare. Shesha Bear captured two of 16 races prior to being bred.

After Shesha Bear got in foal in 2009, she made five starts for RWH before being taken out of training in the second half of the year. She foaled Pasaka Boy in 2010.

“After Shesha Bear had Pasaka Boy, she wasn’t a good mother,” Portman said. “She kicked the foal quite badly in the knee, and because she was a pain in the neck, the owners decided to put her back in training. She was sent to me, and after a period of getting to know her, we won three consecutive races at Epsom last year. She ran very well to be second in her recent start.”

“The owners are keen to run Pasaka Boy at Royal Ascot,” Portman added. “I told them let’s enter him and see what the race looks like. In reality, he’ll probably go back to Salisbury for a smaller race.”

Shesha Bear, who has run two other times this year and was beaten in both starts, is a half sister to stakes winner Warming Trends. Her third dam is North American blue hen mare Kittiwake (by Sea-Bird II), whose stakes winners include grade I winner Miss Oceana and French group I winner Kitwood.

Portman said Shesha Bear might be bred next year. She was not bred this year.